While the 2008 All Star Game may be a thing of the past, people have still been talking about things they saw at Yankee Stadium those three days, and most of them have to do with Josh Hamilton. While most of the talk is about the 498 home runs (give or take) that Hamilton hit during the Home Run Derby (How dumb did Justin Morneau feel having to accept that trophy?), there's also a lot of talk about Hamilton's relationship with the legendary Willie Mays.

The day after the game there was a lot of talk about the apparent snub of Hamilton by Mays before the game. If you didn't see it, before the player introductions, forty-nine Hall of Famers were announced at their positions. Then, when the players were introduced, they ran out to their spot and shook hands with the legends that stood before them. Just one tiny problem.

When Hamilton ran out to his spot in centerfield, Willie Mays turned away from him and kept on talking to Kosuke Fukudome, who doesn't speak a whole lot of English. This of course started the firestorm that Mays didn't like Hamilton for some reason, but Josh wants us to know that wasn't the case at all.

Hamilton quickly denied any sort of snub, though, and said Mays was simply talking to National League starter Kosuke Fukudome and later greeted Hamilton (visual proof above).

"He leaned over and told me, 'Congratulations,' " said Hamilton, a first-time All-Star. "I told him that I've known who he is for a long time and that I'm a big fan."

Josh then told Willie to let his godson know that he has a ton of unused needles should he need any. Or he just sang along to the Star-Spangled Banner, I don't know, I'm not a lip-reader.

Awards and accolades are nothing new to Curtis Granderson. I mean, after you've already won the Most Boring Baseball Player Blog, there isn't much mountain left to climb. Not for Curtis, no sir, he's gonna keep climbing that mountain until he runs himself right off the top of it.

Last night when Curtis Granderson hit a home run in the Tigers 6-1 victory over the Mariners, he entered the history books. Granderson became the first player since 1979 to hit 20 homers, 20 doubles, and 20 triples in the same season. The last person to do it was George Brett.

There was also some guy named Willie Mays who did the same thing back in 1957. In total, only six players have done what Curtis has done this season in the last 100 years. I don't care what it is, but if you're on a short list of people to accomplish something, and one of the guys on the list is named Willie Mays, that's got to feel pretty good.

"Definitely some good players," Granderson said. "It's amazing. I'm really kind of speechless right now. I'm just trying to continue to play. That's the big thing. That's the hardest thing right now."

Granderson isn't done yet, either. He may have at least 20 homers, doubles and triples, but he's only got 19 stolen bases. If Granderson can manage another stolen base this season, he'll join even more exclusive company. Of the six men to have done this over the last 100 years, only WIllie Mays and Frank Schulte in 1911 managed to do it with at least 20 stolen bases as well.

They sure love their home run champ in San Francisco, I tell you. So much so, that they will be honoring their slugger today, and it sounds like they're going all out:

Mayor Gavin Newsom will host a celebration honoring San Francisco's favorite slugger, Barry Bonds, and his historic achievement of becoming the new all-time home run leader. The celebration is scheduled for noon PT on Friday in the Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco, but the party will start at 11:30 a.m. with the Wonderbread 5 band.

The public is welcome to join the festive ballpark atmosphere that will feature Bonds along with his family, former and current teammates, Giants executives and broadcasters, and various celebrities. Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda are also scheduled to attend.

Next thing you know, Bonds will be awarded a key to the city. And mayors, take note: if you want to honor a player, this is how you do it. Are you listening mayor of Cincinnati?

UPDATE: Bonds actually was handed a key to the city.

International Pastime will look at baseball's influence outside the U.S.

This news is, quite frankly, saddening. When I need my baseball fix in November and December, where will I turn? Unfortunately, it won't be to the Puerto Rican Winter Ball League -- their upcoming season has been canceled.

The Puerto Rican winter baseball league, where the likes of Roberto Clemente, Ivan Rodriguez and Juan Gonzalez once starred, canceled its upcoming season Thursday because of financial problems.

The league was supposed to start its 70th season in three months. Instead, it suspended operations and planned to spend the next year trying to reorganize.
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Puerto Rico's league runs from October through January. This year's season was expected to feature Yadier Molina and his brother, Jose.

The league has a storied past, with Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Reggie Jackson all playing in Puerto Rico.

Well, the bright side is that it's only one season and it has a chance to be back in '08-'09. I'm just wondering why none of the Puerto Rican players have stepped up to revive the league. Sigh. If only Juan-Gone had signed on the dotted line ... the league might have been able to live on.

With Willie Mays at his side, here's what Barry Bonds had to say shortly after breaking the all-time home run record:

"Thank you very much. I got to thank all of you. All the fans here in San Fransisco, road and home, it's been fantastic. I want to thank you all. I got to thank my teammates for their support. Through all this, you guys have been strong and you've given me all the support in the world and I'll never forget it as long as I live -- thank you. I got to thank my family. My mother, my wife Liz, my kids Nikolai, Shikari and Aisha. I'm glad I did it before you guys went to school. Thanks for being here. I got to thank the Washington Nationals for your support. Thank you for understanding this day. It means a lot to me. My dad ... thank you .. for everything .. thank you."

As one can imagine, Bonds was very emotional when he mentioned his father at the end of the speech. And this just in: ESPN just showed an interview with Erin Andrews and Bonds and when asked what's next for him, Bonds said "a lot more baseball, hell yeah. I'm not quitting, plenty more baseball left."

Stay tuned, folks.

The Giants have a four game series with the Nationals in San Francisco that begins tonight, and funny enough, the stoic Bud Selig will reportedly miss all four games. That's according to Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com, because the AP report said Selig would miss the first three games of the series. Two weeks ago, it was Bob DuPuy standing in for Selig. This week, it will be two different MLB officials.

Commissioner Bud Selig's schedule will preclude him from being there until later in the week. In his stead, Jimmie Lee Solomon, a Major League Baseball executive vice president, is slated to be in attendance Monday and Tuesday, and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson, an MLB advisor, is slated to replace him Wednesday and Thursday.

Surprise surprise, Bonds hasn't received congrats from the commish on 755 either:

Bonds shrugged when told that the Commissioner probably won't be in attendance the next few days. Bonds never heard from Selig directly after the game, although the Commissioner released a congratulatory statement. But Bonds said he did speak to Ken Griffey Jr. and had voice messages from his godfather, Willie Mays, and Alex Rodriguez, who earlier Saturday hit his 500th homer at Yankee Stadium.

There was no message from Aaron, either, Bonds said.

Sound to me like there's a pretty good chance Selig won't be there when Bonds breaks the record, and my guess is, that's fine by Bud. Let the criticism rain.

Previously at FanHouse:
Bud Selig Watched But Didn't Clap
Bud Selig Will Send Bob DuPuy to Watch Bonds in San Francisco This Weekend

We've already heard Eric Byrnes call Barry Bonds the best player in history, and Alex Rodriguez call Bonds "probably the greatest ever." Now, we have Bonds' fellow BALCO-mate, Gary Sheffield, who has labeled Barry the best player ever. From the Detroit Free-Press:

"The best that ever lived," Sheffield said. "I don't care who wants to dispute it. I don't care who you talk about, Barry's the best that played this game. I don't care who you get -- Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, you can get them all, Babe Ruth, nobody.

"He does everything. People say his arm isn't very strong, but Barry just got rid of the ball quicker so people didn't run on him. He knew how to position players and won a lot of Gold Gloves, stole a lot of bases, hit a lot of home runs. You can't find a better player than that."

Of course, Gary Sheffield is the same guy who said steroids were only something you could stick in your butt, so he loses all credibility when it comes to meaningful arguments. Still, good to know that there are many players in the current game who feel they are watching the best player of all-time.

Previously at FanHouse:
Eric Byrnes: Barry Bonds Is the Best Player in History
A-Rod: Barry Bonds Probably the Greatest Ever
Gary Sheffield Is Back, Baby!

Considering that Barry Bonds grew up with Bobby Bonds as his father, and arguably the greatest baseball player of all time as his godfather in Willie Mays, I don't think there was a shortage of baseball players around for Barry to idolize.

But they were his elders. Who did Bonds worship the most amongst his contemporaries growing up in northern California? You'd be surprised.

So, which athlete did Giants slugger Barry Bonds most admire when he was growing up in Northern California? In addition to his late father, Bobby Bonds, and his godfather, Willie Mays, Bonds told friends in Chicago last week that White Sox general manager Ken Williams was the all-around athlete he idolized as a contemporary. Williams later played football at Stanford before a brief major-league career.

"I was good at what I did, and there were a lot of great young athletes in the Bay Area when I was growing up," Bonds said. "But Kenny Williams could do everything-run, hit. And he was smart. He was head and shoulders above the rest of us then."

Williams may have been head and shoulders above Barry then, but after looking at Kenny's .218 average and 27 homers in six major league seasons, I think it's safe to say that Barry passed him up somewhere along the way.

Greetings, Major League Baseball fans. I am PostmanR, your intrepid blogger. Tonight for you, we have a very special treat ... it's the 2007 MLB All-Star Game!

There are many pressing issues to address this evening. Such as: just what squad will gain home-field advantage, no matter how ridiculous the premise? Can the National League overcome the American League after being in its stranglehold for years? Will Barry Bonds weep as he plays in front of his home crowd? Will Tony LaRussa fall asleep before the sixth inning?

All this and more after the jump. So sit back, relax and and enjoy the ride.

Barry Bonds has already made it clear that he "ain't quitting" until the home run record is his. Well, what if he breaks the record this year, will he continue to play in that case? Once again, Bonds shared his plans with one of his favorite reporters, Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com. He says playing in 2008 is a good bet:

"I want to come back, that's the biggest part of it," Bonds told MLB.com before the Giants played the Cardinals at Busch Stadium. "I'm not done yet. I still have things left to accomplish."
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Bonds reiterated again that achieving the 3,000-hit plateau was almost as important as passing Aaron on the home run list.

"I want that because Willie [Mays] has it," said Bonds about his godfather, who amassed 3,283 hits in his 22-year career. "But I don't think I'll come close this year."

Talk about a driven cat -- Barry certainly has his eyes set on those milestones. If there's one downside about taking all the walks he does, it's that it keeps him from getting more hits. But that's only a testament to his patience at the plate, and the fact that he won't allow himself to become a free swinger for purposes of achieving a milestone is quite impressive. That has to be respected.

Previously at FanHouse:
Barry Bonds 'Ain't Quitting' Until He Has the Home Run Record